We wrote the book
After two years in development, Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers
(2007, No Starch Press, San Francisco)
is the most comprehensive book ever written on webbot and spider development.
This is the only book that explains both the technical aspects of webbot development
as well as all the non-technical lessons culled from
years of webbot development for clients.
The Internet is bigger and better than what a mere browser allows. Webbots, Spiders,
and Screen Scrapers is for developers and business managers looking to unlock the competitive
advantages of nontraditional online approaches. The book first outlines the limitations of browsers,
and then explains how these deficiencies can be exploited with the design and deployment of task-specific webbots.
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Webbots create freedom
Webbots and Spiders free you from browser limitations and create competitive advantages!
For example, webbots and spiders:
- Automate what you now do manually online
- Combine resources from multiple websites, newsgroups, email accounts, etc.
- Filter online content for relevance
- Enforce your business rules and automatically act on your behalf
Webbots not only automate the Internet, but they also challenge old conventions of what's possible online.
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What else can webbots & spiders do?
 Automate nearly any repetitive online activity,
 Compare your online prices to those of your competitors,
 Manage your eBay auctions,
 Create an online "clipping service" for yourself, or your competition,
 Send you an email when something specific is listed on Craigslist,
 Receive real-time court records,
 Monitor online auctions and automatically make "rules-based" bids,
 Poll information from online appliances, and
 Search for the Internet for inappropriate use of intellectual property.
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